Des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin is a favorable biomarker for the early diagnosis of alfa-fetoprotein-negative hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Objectives Des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) is an important serum biomarker for the clinical screening of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to evaluate the value of DCP for the early diagnosis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-negative hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. Methods We retrospectively enrolled patients with AFP-negative HBV-related HCC and benign liver disease. Serum DCP levels in all participants were measured by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. The value of DCP for the early diagnosis of AFP-negative HBV-related HCC was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) analyses. Results A total of 210 patients, including 87 cases with AFP-negative HBV-related HCC and 123 control cases with chronic HBV infection (CHB) or liver cirrhosis (LC), were included. Serum DCP levels were significantly increased in patients with AFP-negative HBV-related HCC compared with those with CHB or LC. The AUC for DCP for distinguishing between the two groups was 0.731 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.657 to 0.805) and that for early diagnosis was 0.685 (95%CI, 0.596 to 0.774). Conclusions DCP may be a favorable biomarker to improve the early diagnosis rate of AFP-negative HBV-related HCC.